Coronavirus in Texas

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Texas marks 15,000 coronavirus deaths as cases, hospitalizations decline from July’s record highs

by Texas Tribune Staff Updated: 9 hours ago

The state also reported 2,977 new cases and 3,195 current hospitalizations due to the coronavirus. Full Story 

Latest coverage

• TribCast: How Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death will affect Texas

  by Matthew Watkins and Michael Rey de Leon 10 hours ago

  On this week's Tribcast, Matthew talks with Ross, Emma and Alex about the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy, Gov. Greg Abbott's latest reopening announcement and voter registration in Texas. Full Story 

• Conservative state Rep. Steve Toth withdraws support for Gov. Greg Abbott over coronavirus response

  by Cassandra Pollock Sept. 23, 2020

  Toth, a member of the hardline Texas House Freedom Caucus, is the latest from that faction of the GOP to express disapproval of how Abbott has handled coronavirus-related shutdowns. Full Story 

• Texas Republicans sue to stop Gov. Greg Abbott's extension of early voting period during the pandemic

  by Patrick Svitek Sept. 23, 2020

  State party Chair Allen West, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and members of the Texas Legislature were among those who filed the suit against Abbott. Full Story 

• As Texas college towns emerge as coronavirus hot spots, universities try to keep students from infecting locals

  by Emma Platoff, Shawn Mulcahy and Anna Novak Sept. 22, 2020

  In counties where four-year college students make up at least 10% of the population, cases have grown 34% since Aug. 19, according to a Texas Tribune analysis. That’s compared with 23% in counties with a smaller proportion of students. Full Story 

• Texas needs more poll workers this year because of the pandemic. Here's how to become one.

  by Catherine DeLaura Sept. 21, 2020

  Working at polls is going to look different this year. Find out what poll workers do, who qualifies to be one and how to become one yourself. Full Story 

• Analysis: COVID-19’s almost incomprehensible toll in Texas

  by Ross Ramsey Sept. 21, 2020

  We’ve lost a lot of Texans already and will surely lose more to the coronavirus. Doesn’t it seem like there should at least be a moment of silence? Full Story 

• Texas Tribune photojournalists on the front line: photography in a year of pandemic and unrest

  by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., John Jordan, Pu Ying Huang, Eddie Gaspar, Jordan Vonderhaar and Shelby Tauber Sept. 20, 2020

  Photojournalists are regularly in the thick of things when they cover stories, but 2020 has made their jobs even more difficult. Here's a look at the work of five Tribune photographers in this extraordinary year — and some of the gear they've used. Full Story 

• Texas bars and distilleries rip Gov. Greg Abbott for leaving them out of "unacceptable" reopening plan

  by Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff Sept. 19, 2020

  While restaurants are allowed to expand to 75% capacity, those in the bar industry worry prolonged shutdowns could lead to 30% of its businesses closing within six months. Full Story 

• Texas courts must start telling tenants how a federal eviction moratorium can keep them housed

  by Juan Pablo Garnham Sept. 18, 2020

  The Texas Supreme Court ordered that eviction citations will have to inform renters about the moratorium requirements and include the form needed to apply for protection. Full Story 

• Ted Cruz dismisses concerns over Attorney General Bill Barr and the federal coronavirus response as politically motivated

  by Abby Livingston Sept. 18, 2020

  Cruz said that Barr has done an "admirable job" and that the Trump administration took "serious and ... extraordinary" steps to fight the pandemic. Full Story 

• August unemployment rate in Texas drops to 6.8%, lowest level since coronavirus shutdowns

  by Mitchell Ferman Updated: Sept. 18, 2020

  The U.S. Labor Department on Friday announced Texas' unemployment rate for August fell to 6.8%. That is still far above pre-pandemic levels, underscoring a summer of steady joblessness for many Texans. Full Story 

• Texans with disabilities are eligible for mail-in voting, but people must decide for themselves if they qualify

  by Trinady Joslin Sept. 18, 2020

  Disability rights activists say they’re worried the confusion may deter at-risk Texans from voting or cause them to needlessly put their health at risk to show up in person at the polls despite being eligible for mail-in voting. Full Story 

• Analysis: Texas reopenings tied more to COVID-19 severity than to spread

  by Ross Ramsey Sept. 18, 2020

  Leaving behind their focus on the spread of the coronavirus, Texas leaders now say hospitalizations will guide their decisions on how to regulate social distancing at businesses and cultural centers. Full Story 

• Texas will allow visitations at nursing homes, other long-term care facilities with active COVID-19 cases

  by Shawn Mulcahy Sept. 17, 2020

  Visitors previously were allowed only into long-term care facilities where there were no active cases of the virus among residents and no confirmed cases among staff members in the past two weeks. Full Story 

• Six months into the pandemic, out-of-work Texans are still struggling to navigate unemployment system

  by Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff and Kelsey Carolan Sept. 17, 2020

  As 1.8 million Texans continue to claim unemployment, many complain they still can't reach the Texas Workforce Commission and are quickly losing trust in Congress to agree to a second stimulus agreement. Full Story 

• Gov. Greg Abbott loosens coronavirus restrictions for restaurants and other businesses in most regions of Texas

  by Patrick Svitek Updated: Sept. 17, 2020

  Restaurants, retail stores and office buildings will now be able to operate at 75% capacity, Abbott said. Three regions — the Rio Grande Valley, Laredo and Victoria — were excluded from the loosening of restrictions, however. Full Story 

• How years of underfunding public health left Texas ill prepared for the pandemic

  by Edgar Walters Sept. 17, 2020

  Budget cuts meant skimpier caches of protective equipment, and Texas' chronic shortage of public health workers has made the response more difficult, experts said. Full Story 

• Share of positive COVID-19 cases as Texas reopened was higher than originally reported, new state calculations show

  by Shawn Mulcahy Sept. 16, 2020

  Public health experts say discrepancies in key metrics, such as the positivity rate, made it difficult for officials to make informed policy decisions. Full Story 

• Gov. Greg Abbott used pandemic as cover to ban abortions in Texas, former Planned Parenthood head says

  by Stacy Fernández Sept. 16, 2020

  Cecile Richards, a Texas native, made the comment in an interview during The Texas Tribune Festival that aired Wednesday. Limits on abortion access earlier this year spurred legal battles. Full Story 

• Balancing higher health risks and spotty internet, reopening college in the Rio Grande Valley is a challenge

  by Karen Brooks Harper Updated: Sept. 16, 2020

  At UT-Rio Grande Valley, administrators spent a tense summer preparing for the fall semester while local coronavirus rates spiked, the area spiraled into further economic depression and debate raged across the nation about how to safely send college students back to school. Full Story